Earlier this year, Saga Communications announced plans to unveil 18 local news websites in its small and medium-sized markets, under the direction of CEO Chris Forgy.
The development comes on the heels and the success of the company’s digital brand ClarksvilleNow.com which started at its Northern Tennessee cluster in 2010.
Excitement for the digital brands was immediate from Saga advertisers. When the company announced plans to launch more local news sites, it added that it had already secured $1 million in advertising dollars for the 18 additional brands.
The genesis for the digital news brands came from Clarksville as the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army — which has its home base in the market at Fort Campbell — was deployed. The soldiers leaving the area had no real discernable way to stay up-to-date on local information. Additionally, flooding in the area left a dearth of information for the area. Saga Communications stepped in to fill that news void.
“At the same time, the newspaper in the area was circling the drain. We had these — what is now nine — brands in Clarksville/Hopkinsville (Kentucky) that we could promote this online news service on and cross-promote back and forth. Fast forward about 10 years later and the thing was doing a million dollars in revenue a year,” Forgy said.
He noted that when he became the CEO after the passing of Saga Communications founder Ed Christian, he decided it was time to take the initiative to a wider scale.
“It’s one of the things that I always thought we should have done and never did … 21 of our 27 markets are in markets smaller than 100. So it’s perfectly set up for us to deploy them in those markets … When we started, we said by the end of 2024 we will have 18 markets deployed — not including our recent acquisition of Lafayette, Indiana — and we had 18 done by the end of June. Now we’re working on Lafayette which we just closed on.”
It would be easy to think that focusing your time and effort on digital news brands in small markets could take away advertising from the company’s already established radio brands.
But that hasn’t been the case.
“We’re seeing advertisers who want to be a part of something in the community is important,” Forgy revealed. “We’re getting to do business with them visa vie the new site. And then at that point, if they hadn’t been a radio advertiser, we introduce them to the way we do business.
“We do get business both ways. But, initially, it’s from advertisers that maybe have not been involved with us on the radio and see this online news site come into play and want to be a part of it. There are also the big companies that we do business with and say, ‘Oh, man, this is really great. I’ve got to be a part of it,’ as well. So it does go both ways.”
As Chris Forgy mentioned, Saga Communications operates in a manner that’s drastically different from many other radio operators like iHeartMedia, Audacy, and Cumulus. Since its founding in 1986, the company has focused mainly on small markets, with the exceptions of locales like Charleston, Columbus, Milwaukee, and Norfolk, among a select few others.
But that local connection matters to the broadcaster. And Forgy believes it’s been a recipe for success for decades.
“I think that is definitely one of the reasons we’ve been so successful for so long,” he stated. “Some of the other companies that wanted to be in these big sexy markets, it’s very expensive to operate there. And if you’re not successful, they will cost you an arm and a leg and could put you under. The number one sought-after thing that consumers or listeners are looking for is connectivity. So we go into markets where we can actually impact the market and make a difference. Where we can be belly-to-belly with people that influence happenings in the community.
“We encourage our leadership in those markets to get involved and literally or figuratively become the mayor of the market,” Forgy continued. “You can’t do that in Boston, LA, San Francisco, or Detroit.”
Chris Forgy is as connected as any radio leader in the industry. After being elected to the NAB Radio Board of Directors for the District that encompasses North and South Carolina, he was also recently placed on the board of the Broadcasters Foundation of America.
That connectivity allows him to see the industry with a 1,000-foot view more often than not. And while he notes that the radio business has done a fine job of slashing jobs instead of selling its way out of any potential issues, Saga Communications won’t be utilizing Artificial Intelligence in replacement of live and local on-air talents anytime soon.
“Somebody asked me the other day, ‘How are you going to approach AI?’. I said ‘I’ll tell you this: It will stand true for as long as I’m in this company. And that is that we will never replace our live personalities with AI. Ever. Period. The end.’ That’s starting to happen and that’s a that’s a very slippery slope,” he shared.
He noted that while the local news sites will utilize AI at times, the company is more focused on utilizing the technology to improve efficiency rather than create content.
And that strategy is part and parcel of how Saga Communications views its standing in the communities it serves with the local news sites.
“Other companies have tried to do this, but we have one thing that they don’t and that’s a megaphone to promote the product and then to cross-promote with our news/talk stations,” Chris Forgy stated. “Our news/talk stations give credibility (to the local news sites). It’s just two-way credibility from radio to the online news site and vice versa.”
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
